Tag Archives: John Boehner

Chain-smoker and notorious Big Tobacco congressional stooge John Boehner last week joined the RJ Reynolds board of directors.

Why am I not surprised. Yeah, believe it or not, this is absolutely a true story, Boehner once handed out cheques from tobacco companies on the floor of the U.S. Congress before he became Speaker of the House. He did this actually on the floor of the U.S. Capitol in 1995. the cheques were an attempt to persuade representatives from voting against a bill cutting tax breaks to Big Tobacco. Boehner and Big Tobacco’s tactics won the day.

What a shill! What a sleaze.

Boehner reportedlt received nearly half a million in campaign contributions from Big Tobacco during his political career, and he was notorious for doing tobacco’s bidding during his many years in Congress.

Big Tobacco made nice with Boehner early in his career and kept the money coming. Over his 14 years in the House, Boehner received $497,112 in direct contributions from the tobacco lobby. Boehner stayed loyal, consistently siding with the tobacco industry’s wishes in legislative battles.

And what a surprise! Boehner, after resigning his House seat and his Speaker of the House post, has glided into post-politics retirement as an actual corporate board member of RJ Reynolds.

“RAI (RJ Reynolds) is striving to transform the tobacco industry through innovative strategies that include speeding the decline in tobacco use among young people and reducing the harm caused by smoking,” said a Boehner spokesman. “These are objectives Speaker Boehner supports and looks forward to helping RAI advance through his service on the board.”

Supposedly, Boehner was such a heavy smoker that current House Speaker Paul Ryan had to have the Speaker’s office fumigated and the furniture replaced because of the smoky stench.

I would never wish lung cancer on anyone, but John … dude … you’re pushing that sentiment to the limit.

Something that isn’t talked about much with cigarette smoke is the sheer stench of it that’s left behind in the walls, furniture, carpet, drapes, etc. There’s actually a term for this stench — third-hand smoke. And for a lot of non-smokers, it’s pretty awful.

I had to laugh at a number of stories I saw about the new Speaker of the House, Paul Ryan, (who coincidentally is a fitness nut who runs marathons and lies about running three-hour marathons), having to literally fumigate John Boehner’s old Speaker office to “detoxify” it.

Boehner is not only well-known for being a chain smoker, but he once actually handed out checks from tobacco lobbyists directly to congresspeople in the House of Representatives. Talk about being a pretty brazen lackey of the tobacco industry. Not only was he a political sleaze, he was also apparently a real butthead of a smoker, too, who chain smoked in his office and smoked during closed-door meetings with non-smokers.

According to Ryan: “I try to sit as far away from him as I can in meetings that I know are going to be stressful. I just hate getting that smell in my clothes.”

Seriously, only a clueless out-of-touch congressman could get away with that kind of stuff today. In defence of most smokers, no one smokes in offices and around non-smokers today. Not unless they’re in a bar. In certain states.

Well, if Boehner was smoking in his office, which he obviously was, doesn’t that violate Washington, D.C.’s ban on indoor smoking? Apparently, there is an exemption for congresspersons. Go figure. Wonder what role Boehner played in that?

Not only that, it isn’t cheap to get rid of the odour. This is all happening at taxpayer’s request. When Nancy Pelosi took over Boehner’s old Minority Leader office, she had to replace all the carpeting and drapes, have the paint stripped and then repaint the office to get rid of the odour. So, now it’s having to be done again to get the same reek out of Ryan’s new office. I’m guessing to have two offices completely refurbished liked that probably cost in the tens of thousands. They oughta send a bill to Boehner.

One thing I have learned about smoking bans — and I first learned this from talking to bar owners — is what a drag it is to get rid of the odour of cigarette smoke. In fact, I was talking to some bar owners the other day about this very thing. It is incredibly expensive and difficult to get that smell out of the walls, ceilings, etc. Even when I once had smokers downstairs in an apartment building, I had to have my own carpet cleaned to get rid of their downstairs smoke odour that wafted up through the floor. Just another good reason for indoor smoking bans. It not only damages other people’s lungs, it does a heck of a lot of damage to carpeting, walls, furniture and clothing.

I’m just posting this because I think it’s hilarious. According to this USA Today story, Wisconsin congressman Paul Ryan said that in meetings with House Speaker John Boehner, he tries to sit as far away as possible because of Boehner’s constant smoking.

“I try to sit as far away from him as I can in meetings that I know are going to be stressful,” House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., told Time in a Q&A published Thursday. “I just hate getting that smell in my clothes.”

OK, maybe just worth a chuckle. What isn’t quite as funny is Boehner has long been a stooge for Big Tobacco in Congress and has taken hundreds of thousands (maybe even millions) in contributions from Big Tobacco. Several years ago, Boehner even handed out checks from the tobacco industry’s lobbyists to members of Congress — on the floor of the House no less — in order to garner their votes on some issues benefiting the tobacco industry.